


The Masks We Wear

by MacyAudenStar



Series: Putting Ourselves Back Together [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Tommy Merlyn lives, lady friendships, post-season one, season two rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-14
Updated: 2014-01-21
Packaged: 2018-01-08 17:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1135307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MacyAudenStar/pseuds/MacyAudenStar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Undertaking. Laurel, Felicity, and Thea grew close over the summer when Oliver ran away to Lian Yu. When Tommy reappears, unable to remember anything about the last five months, everyone's lives will be turned upside down. As they work to uncover the mystery of Tommy's "death," old friends and enemies will return and secrets will have to be kept, testing the strength of relationships.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thanks to Girlwithsixsmiles for being an amazing beta.

“Ok, what are we watching tonight?” Felicity asked, joining Laurel and Thea with a large bowl of popcorn and a few bottled waters.

Laurel turned to Thea. “Your turn to choose.” 

Thea pursed her lips, thinking about it for a moment. “Miss Congeniality.” The older girls groaned jokingly and Thea crossed her arms. “What? That is a great movie. It’s a classic.”

“What are you talking about? That movie is only 14 years old.” Felicity plopped down between the two of them and set the bowl of popcorn on her coffee table.

“And what do you know about classics anyway?” Laurel teased.

Thea grabbed a handful of popcorn and shrugged her shoulders. “I know that that’s one of them.” She popped a couple of pieces into her mouth. “And I know that you secretly love it. Both of you.”

Felicity and Laurel looked at each other and grinned before Felicity queued up the movie from her media server. They laughed along with the movie, and laughed harder when they started quoting along with the actors.

“I'm in a dress, I have gel in my hair, I haven't slept. I'm starved and I'm armed. Don't mess with me.”

“You think I’m gorgeous. You want to kiss me. You want to hug me.”

“April 25th because it’s not too hot, not too cold. All you need is a light jacket.”

“I told you it was a classic,” Thea crowed when it was over.

Laurel waved her off and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. We get it. What do you ladies have going on this weekend?”

“Verdant, stupid boyfriend, you know how it goes,” Thea said as she leaned her back against the armrest and stretched her legs out over the other girls’ laps.

“Is Roy still obsessing over the Hood’s absence?” Laurel asked.

“Like you wouldn’t believe. He won’t stop getting himself into trouble. He comes home with a new bruise every night. He’s an idiot.” She poked at Felicity, “You ok?”

“Yeah, I just have a business trip that I have to go on bright and early tomorrow morning,” Felicity said. She frowned. “I hate planes. And heights, in general.”

“You should have said something, you could borrow the family jet. Much more comfortable than any of those other planes.”

Felicity scoffed, like she’d actually ask to borrow a private jet. “Gee, thanks, Thea. I’ll remember that next time.”

Thea shrugged. “What the point of being friends with a billionaire if you can’t take advantage of it?”

“I...don’t even know what to say to that,” Felicity said with a glance over at Laurel.

“It’s nice. The Queen family jet,” Laurel said slowly. “Oliver, Tommy, and I used it a few times, and Oliver and I used it twice. You know how Oliver is.”

“I don’t know that I want to know how Oliver is from you,” Thea said slowly.

Felicity poked at Thea’s leg while saying, “You mean sort of reckless and spontaneous and just an all around bad decision maker?” They both looked at her with raised eyebrows and Felicity realized that she wasn’t supposed to know Oliver that well, according to them. “What? I’ve seen the tabloids. Didn’t he and Tommy rent out a football stadium or something one time to play touch football with lingerie models or something ridiculous?”

Thea wrinkled her nose, but Laurel rolled her eyes and said, “I think it was strip kickball. But, yes, like that. Anyway, he used to be able to sweet talk me into dropping everything I was doing to go to Vegas or Cabo or Cancun for the weekend. I thought maybe he’d wise up, get his act together, but he never did. Obviously. I had to start putting my foot down if I was ever going to get a degree.”

“I’m sure that went over well,” Felicity murmured. She vaguely wondered how this had become her life, lying around her apartment with Laurel Lance and Thea Queen of all people, shooting the shit, watching girly movies, complaining about Oliver Queen. 

The three women had grown close over the summer. Felicity and Laurel met at Tommy’s grave, she had seen a shot glass that reminded her of him and wanted to leave it there, and literally ran into Laurel. They got lunch that day and had grown closer ever since, adding Thea into the group was an easy nondecision. The three of them made sure to do something together at least once a week, but usually it was more often than that, lunches, movie nights, mani pedis. Thea and Felicity even joined Laurel and her father for lasagne night a few times over the last few months as well.

Laurel laughed, short and harsh. “You have no idea. He was so spoiled and selfish back then. I guess there isn’t much that’s changed.”

Felicity closed her eyes, knowing it was going to take all of her willpower to not just punch Oliver Queen in the face when she saw him in two days. She couldn’t believe how horribly he’d screwed over all the people in his life. The women, especially.

* * * * 

Thea closed her eyes tightly. If she’d known this was going to happen when Oliver came back, she’d almost wish he hadn’t. The group of guys that took her were huddled up about ten feet away from her. She couldn’t make out anything that they were saying, but she had a bad feeling anyway.

And she was right to, she realized when they gathered around her. The one asshole wanted to kill her. Thea knew better than to speak up, but when they started talking about her mother murdering people, it was about all she could take.

“My mother didn’t kill anyone,” she said through clenched teeth. She mentally berated herself for having to tell these assholes this when she had refused to visit her mother in prison because she blamed her own mother for the earthquake. She didn’t owe these guys any explanations. Of course, it didn’t stop her from speaking anyway. “Malcolm Merlyn destroyed the Glades.”

“With mommy’s help.”

“Merlyn killed my father. She thought he killed my brother, too. She was afraid of him. She must have been so afraid,” her voice broke and she looked down. She needed to get out of here. And the moment she could, she’d go see her mother. That she abandoned, even though she was just trying to protect herself, and her family.

Thea heard the sound of an arrow flying through the air, and a deep voice yell, “Get away from her!” From there, everything happened quickly. Some of her captors began shooting at the vigilante, while the one in charge pulled her up from the chair and dragged her to a balcony. The Hood caught up with them, and the two argued for just a moment before the Hood shot her captor and told her to run.

She didn’t have to be told twice. She ran out of the church and down the street until someone called out her name. She looked over to see Officer Lance pulling up, his lights on, and nearly collapsed in his arms when he reached her. “Oh, thank God. Are you ok, sweetheart?”

She nodded through her tears and let him guide her to the backseat of the car. “Thea, I have to take you in and ask you a few questions, is that ok?”

“Yes, that’s fine. Can I call Roy when I get there? He needs to know I’m safe.”

“Of course. Did they hurt you?”

“No, no, they roughed me up a little, but they didn’t hurt me. I don’t need a hospital or anything.”

Lance nodded and looked toward his partner. “Well, we’re just going to take you to the station, ask you a few questions, and then Roy or Oliver can come get you and take you home. That sound alright, Thea?”

Thea nodded. “Yeah, yes, of course. Thank you, Mr. Lance.” True to his word, Lance took her right to the station and let her call Roy first, then asked her his questions. Could she describe the men, did they hurt her, did they tell her their motive, what else did they say? She knew Lance was trying to be gentle with her, which she appreciated. She was only there for two hours, tops, and Roy was already waiting for her when they told her she could go home.

She walked straight into Roy’s arms and wrapped her own around his neck, squeezing tightly. “I’m going to go see my mom tomorrow.”

Roy leaned back to get a good look at her. “Yeah?” She nodded and he pulled her close again, nodding his thanks at Lance before walking her out to her car. “I brought your purse. It’s in the car. Please text Felicity back, she’s been blowing up your phone and mine.”

“Like she hasn’t already hacked into the police department’s files and seen that I was picked up,” Thea said with a smirk. She was grateful though, to have someone else looking out for her.

“She can do that?”

“Oh, Roy,” Thea patted his chest with her hand. “She could destroy you, if she wanted to. Hell, she could destroy that police department, if she wanted to. She’s brilliant.” When they got back to the car, she immediately sent Felicity a text, letting her know she was safe and that she’d call her the next day. Now all she wanted to do was go home with her boyfriend and go to sleep.

* * * * 

Laurel squinted at her alarm clock, 2:37 AM. Who the hell would be banging on her apartment door at almost 3 AM? She threw her robe on and got out her shotgun, hiding it near the door so she could grab it quickly if she needed it.

“Laurel? Please tell me you still live here.” A male’s voice said through the door. A distinct voice, a little raspy, but she still knew it. Laurel froze in place, it just wasn’t possible. There was no way he could be outside her door right now.

Laurel swallowed hard, then inched toward the door and looked out the peephole. There he was, wearing some hospital scrubs under the suit jacket that he was buried in. “Tommy?” she whispered. As if he heard her whisper through the door, he looked up at her door and she gasped.

Laurel opened the door cautiously. “Laurel. Thank God.” Tommy walked toward her and tried to engulf her in a hug, but she jumped back, shaking her head slowly. “What’s wrong?”

“You can’t be here.” Laurel took a deep breath. “We buried you. I just visited your grave last weekend. This isn’t possible.”

“What do you mean you buried me? I woke up in a hospital earlier today. In Central City. See?” He raised his arm and showed her the hospital bracelet around his wrist.

Laurel shook her head slowly. “Ok. Ok. This is just a bad dream, a really messed up, really bad dream.” She closed her eyes and counted to ten slowly, then opened them again. He was still there. He looked exactly the same. She pointed at the armchair in her living room. “Sit down. I’m going to call someone. I don’t know what’s going on. But I need to make sure I’m not crazy.”

Laurel called Felicity, who answered on the third ring, her voice groggy from sleep. “Laurel? What’s wrong? Are you ok? Is your dad ok?”

“Felicity,” Laurel whispered, with her eyes still on Tommy. “Can you please, please come over? There’s a ghost in my apartment. Not a ghost, a person, but a person that’s supposed to be dead.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line that was so long that Laurel almost checked to see if the other girl had hung up on her when she finally spoke again. “Of course, Laurel. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Give me 15 minutes, ok?”

Laurel sat down on the couch, as far away from Tommy as she could possibly get and just stared at him until Felicity arrived. There he was, a breathing person, in front of her. Was he a zombie? Laurel shook her head, her inner monologue was starting to sound a lot like Felicity’s ramblings.

A knock at the door signaled that her friend arrived and Laurel yelled for her to come in. “I know you own a gun, Laurel, but your dad would still be completely pissed off to know that…” Felicity trailed off and Laurel knew without looking that she was seeing Tommy. “Laurel. Is that Tommy?”

“So you can see him, too?” Laurel asked, completely relieved.

“Yes. What is he doing above ground? We visited his grave a week ago,” Felicity said slowly.

“He is sitting six feet away from you,” Tommy said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“He talks?” Felicity whispered. “Zombies usually just moan.”

“They also bite you and turn you into one of them. I’m not a zombie, Felicity. What are you even doing here?”

“I’m sorry, what am I doing here? We buried you, Tommy. I was there, I heard you die,” Laurel turned her head quickly to look at Felicity. What did she mean she heard Tommy die? Felicity winced. “I mean, I heard that you died. About ten minutes after it happened because Oliver, you know what, it doesn’t matter. The point is, you can’t be here.”

“And yet, here I am,” Tommy intoned with a sad shrug.

“Where have you been all this time?” Felicity asked. Laurel was suddenly very happy she called Felicity over. She was usually so clear minded, but this was Tommy. The man she loved, the man who died to save her when she was too stubborn to get out of CNRI during the Glades Earthquake. She was warned, she knew better than to have been there. And Tommy was the one who paid the price. And yet...Here he was.

Tommy shook his head. “This thing,” he gestured to his hospital bracelet, “says I’ve been at Central City Community Hospital.”

Felicity stepped toward him hesitantly, then shook her head and grabbed his arm to look at the hospital bracelet. “Oh, my God.”

“What?” Laurel asked. “What does it say?”

“It says he was checked into CCCH on May 16th,” Felicity said in a low voice.

“But the funeral was May 18th,” Laurel said quietly.

“Something is very, very wrong here,” Felicity said, looking at Tommy, then Laurel, then back at Tommy again. “Tommy, what the hell happened to you?”


	2. Chapter 2

Felicity walked into Queen Consolidated the morning after Tommy’s return feeling quite dead herself. She’d already had one cup of coffee and felt like she was going to need several more to get her through the day.

She’d stayed over at Laurel’s until nearly 4AM, discussing what they were going to do about Tommy. Obviously, they were going to have to legally resurrect him, and she suspected that they could get notes from Oliver on how to do that. They were hoping to do it quietly though, without any sort of media frenzy.

She snorted to herself. Right. Malcolm Merlyn’s son comes back from the dead after being crushed to death in the earthquake that Malcolm himself was responsible for and they were hoping there wouldn’t be a media frenzy? Fat chance of that happening.

Tommy was planning on swinging by the foundry after work to talk to Oliver though, and before that happened, she wanted to tell Oliver and Digg so they wouldn’t be surprised. She was just going to run to her cubicle, make sure there was nothing too important that needed to be taken care of, then go see Oliver, and hope that he wasn’t in a meeting.

When she arrived at the ninth floor, she walked into her boss, who looked surprised to see her. “Felicity! What are you doing here?”

Felicity looked down the hallway, ensuring herself that, yes, there were other people working already, she didn’t arrive two hours early. “Working?” she asked, unsure of how to respond.

Mr. Richardson frowned. “But you’ve been transferred, you’re to report to Mr. Queen on the 27th floor.”

Felicity pursed her lips. “I’m sorry? What do you mean?”

“I assumed you knew, Felicity. Seeing as how much time you spend with Mr. Queen. You should be more comfortable on the 27th floor,” Mr. Richardson said slowly, as if he were speaking to a toddler and not to an MIT graduate.

Felicity frowned and spun around on one heel, intent to see what the hell Mr. Richardson was talking about. She didn’t like what he was insinuating at all. She rode the elevator to the top floor, ignoring the glances of the three other people on the elevator with her.

When she arrived to the top floor, she was surprised to see Oliver already in his office with Diggle in tow. He spoke before she could, “Oh, Felicity, I see you heard about your transfer. That’s great.”

Felicity narrowed her eyes and looked over at Digg, who met her eyes with a steady gaze. “My transfer? I was just told to report up here, to you.”

Oliver smiled then, smiled, and she realized that this was his CEO smile. And that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “Yes, Felicity, I’ve hired you as my executive assistant.”

“I’m sorry, you’ve hired me to be what now?”

“My assistant,” he finally stopped smiling and looked like Oliver, her Oliver, the Oliver she had gotten to know over the last year. 

Felicity gave him a tight smile. “Oh, really? Ok, well, I quit. My new job as your executive assistant, I mean. Not my old job in the IT department that I actually enjoyed.”

“No, you don’t. We all need to have secret identities now, I can’t be going down 18 floors to talk about how we spend our nights.”

“And I love spending my nights with you,” Felicity frowned to herself, counted down from three, then continued, “but I went to MIT, Oliver. And I did not major in secretarial arts.” 

They argued back and forth for a few more moments before Digg finally interrupted, saying, “Well, it could be worse. My new role is his black driver.”

Felicity made a strangled noise in the back of her throat, spinning on her heel and saying, “This is not over. I am not happy with your decision to upend my career. And you will hear about it. Every. Day. I hope you’re prepared for that.”

She walked out into the hallway, Oliver calling after her, “Where are you going?”

“To clean out my old desk, Mr. Queen. I do hope that’s ok with you.”

Felicity was still beyond pissed when she got into the elevator to go back down to the IT floor. The pompous, selfish, spoiled son of a bitch. What right did he have to transfer her out of her department to, what, take notes during his meetings? Take messages for him? Fetch coffee for him and his guests? Because that was so not going to happen. Ever.

She took a couple of empty boxes from the printer room to her desk, intending to take her time. That is, until she noticed that the whole department became silent upon her arrival, then began whispering at a low hum after a few minutes of staring at her. Not a single person would meet her eyes. Not even Travis, her cubicle neighbor that had been flirting with her off and on for the last six months.

That was fine, she thought. Of course there would be some talk. She was, after all, very good at her job. They would think it was odd that she would willingly (or so they thought) transfer to become someone’s assistant. While she was cleaning her computer’s hard drive and wiping her history, she heard people whispering, even as she tried to tune them out, but she still caught bits and pieces of the conversations.

_“...just a social climber…”_

_“Probably got it on her knees.”_

_“Just wait until Oliver gets bored with her, like he did with my sister.”_

She rolled her eyes at the last comment. Alanna would not stop talking about how Oliver dumped her sister seven years ago to get back with Laurel. Well, as much as he and Laurel were off and on back then, no one should have been surprised when that happened. She felt for the girl, really she did, but she realized what everyone else didn’t, Laurel Lance would always come first for Oliver Queen.

Still, it hurt that these people who knew her, that she went out with for drinks at least once a month after work, assumed that she got the job by sleeping with Oliver. That she even wanted the job to begin with. She hoped it would all blow over soon.

Until then, she’d just ignore them, brush it off. She knew the truth. Thankfully, her phone chose that moment to ring, her cubicle phone, which was odd, but she answered it for old time’s sake.

“IT department, this is Felicity Smoak.”

“Hey, Felicity, why aren’t you answering your cell?”

“Oh, hey, Thea. I left it upstairs, I guess. At my new desk,” she said flatly.

“New desk? Did you get promoted?” Thea asked. Felicity felt bad, she could hear the little bit of excitement in the other girl’s voice, and she was about to dash it.

“Oh, Thea, no, let me assure you that that is not a thing that happened. Your brother just made me his executive assistant.”

“He what?”

“Yep.”

“Wow. That’s...wow. Well, as your boss’s demanding, spoiled sister, I expect you to have lunch with me today. My treat.”

Felicity grinned and agreed to meet Thea at their favorite Italian restaurant for lunch, then hung up and finished packing up her desk.

When Felicity got back to the 27th floor, Oliver asked her to look into a few incidents involving some stolen FEMA shipments, which she was more than happy to do. Of course, what Oliver didn’t take into account was that, as the CEO’s new assistant, her phone would be ringing off the hook, and she was out in the open. How was she supposed to do any of their nighttime planning where anyone could just walk up to her and see what she was doing?

A few hours later, she and Thea were seated at their favorite booth at Iaria’s, snacking on breadsticks while they waited for their entrees to be served.

“I still can’t believe he made you his assistant. Why would he do that?”

Felicity pursed her lips, not really sure of what excuse she was supposed to give the normal people in their lives. “He said he wanted to have someone close to him, that he trusted, help him out. Give him moral support or whatever.” Felicity quickly changed the subject. “How are you doing? I haven’t really spoken to you since what happened last week.”

Thea shook her head. “I’m fine. The vigilante saved me. I mean, it was the craziest thing. He’s only been seen, what, like three times since the earthquake. And then, all of a sudden, there he was, saving my life.”

Felicity fidgeted nervously. She and Digg tried to take care of a few things over the summer while Oliver was gone. Nothing big, just a few checkups on the city. They agreed it would be suspicious that the vigilante disappeared with Oliver, then reappeared when he came back. They were hoping to throw off the scent, at least a little bit.

“Well, I’m just glad he saved you at all. Who knows why he decided to start helping again? Maybe he was tired of the Hoods impersonating him,” she finally suggested.

Thea shrugged. “Maybe. I just wish his reappearance would get Roy to back off from his own mission to save the city. He was arrested the other night.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. “Are you serious? What happened?”

“Apparently something is going on with some FEMA shipments that the hospital is supposed to be getting. They’re getting hijacked and not making it to the hospital. Which is bad, I get that. But rather than let the police or whoever handle it, he tried to handle it himself.” Their server came by with their salads and they both smiled at him, Thea waiting for him to leave before she continued. “Flipped his car, got shot at, he could have been killed. But he doesn’t care. Laurel had to come down and interrogate him.”

“Wow. Did she talk some sense into him?”

Thea shrugged. “I hope so. If not, then hopefully Ollie’s big brother speech worked.”

Felicity snorted. “One can only hope.” She tucked some hair behind her ear and took a deep breath. “Laurel called me last night, actually. I was really worried about her. She told me she had a visit from a ghost. Tommy’s back. I should have opened with that. Laurel’s fine. But, um, Tommy’s alive.”

Thea stared at Felicity, her fork raised midair with lettuce hanging off it. “What.”

Felicity shrugged. “I don’t know how it happened, or what happened, or anything. I got over there sometime after two, and there he was, just sitting in a chair like normal. Like he’d never died at all. He doesn’t know what happened, Thea.”

“Are you serious, Felicity?” Thea whispered harshly. “You’re looking into this, right? Tell me you’re looking into this.”

“Oh, I’m looking into it. I can assure you of that.” Felicity poked at her salad, wishing her chicken parmesan would hurry up because she was starving and the salad was just not cutting it. “What are you doing today?”

“I’m visiting my mom, actually. I saw her a few days ago, after what happened, I just couldn’t keep blaming her for what happened to the Glades.”

“Thea, that’s great. I’m proud of you.”

“Oh, be quiet. You and Roy both.”

“We were just worried you’d regret not seeing her, that’s all. You know how I feel about the Glades Earthquake.”

Thea nodded. “I know. I know you said it wasn’t my mom’s fault. But I was there, I was helping people leave, and I just, I had to blame someone. It’s easier to blame the living, I guess.”

Felicity reached across the table and squeezed Thea’s hand. “I understand. I’m just happy that you’re taking the first step, for your sake, and your mother’s.”

* * * * *

“How was your lunch, Felicity?” Oliver asked when he and Digg walked into the foundry after work a few hours later. He’d had a few meetings that he had to take care of after lunch, and they hadn’t had a chance to speak, which was just fine with Felicity. She spent the rest of her day plotting revenge in between answering calls, scheduling meetings, and trying to get some research done on the FEMA investigation.

“Fine. You paid for it, so thanks for that,” Felicity said with a raised eyebrow. Diggle gave her an amused glance while he hung his suit jacket up. Felicity knew he wanted to get some training in with Oliver before any rounds were made around the city that night.

“How is Thea? And Laurel, too, actually, I feel like she and I haven’t really had a chance to catch up.”

“No. You don’t get to ask me questions about how they’re doing because you’re being too you to ask them yourself. You don’t get to play that game with me. I get that you have all these masks you wear for everyone else, QC obviously needs Oliver-as-CEO, just like Starling City needs Oliver Queen, the vigilante-cum-hero. But Laurel, Thea, Digg, me, we all need you. Just Oliver.”

Oliver opened his mouth to say something, but she held up her hand. “I get it. At QC, you’re my boss. You get to tell me what to do, you can force me into a job I hate. But here, in this place that Digg and I rebuilt, that we all feel safe in, this place you only get to use me for the information that I am willing to give you. And you don’t deserve that information. If you want to know about Laurel or Thea, then you are going to have to ask them yourself.”

The three of them stood in the foundry, just looking at each other awkwardly. Finally, Diggle just smirked at Oliver and said, “You should probably leave her alone for a little while. Go beat up on the dummies for a little while. You need to give each other some space.”

Oliver was tense, his jaw ticking like it does when he gets super annoyed, Felicity realized. She was about to spin around to go check on her computers when she heard a banging on the foundry door. She didn’t realize it was possible, but Oliver tensed up even more. “Shit,” she whispered. She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten to tell them about Tommy.

Oliver turned to her slowly. “Is that information that you’re willing to give me? Such as why someone might be banging on the door to the foundry that only three of us are supposed to know about?”

Felicity pushed her glasses up her nose even as she began walking toward the door. “You know, I could give you that, but it will be just as effective for you to see it.” She opened the door and waved Tommy in quickly. “Digg, Oliver, Tommy’s alive.”

“You didn’t tell them?” Tommy asked, incredulous, as they walked down the stairs. Felicity was too nervous to actually look at Oliver and Diggle. She could admit she screwed up this time. Just not to them.

“You know, my day was just not great, in general. I was transferred to a different department and into a job I hate first thing in the morning, and that really just did not bode well for the rest of the day.”

“Transferred?”

“Oliver made me his EA.”

“You made her your assistant? That was not your best move, Oliver.”

“Felicity,” Digg began, arms crossed over his chest, “is there something that maybe we could have talked about this morning?”

Felicity nodded and looked at Tommy. “So, Laurel called me in the middle of the night, saying she needed my help with something. I arrived to see Tommy, who is, apparently, actually alive.”

“Apparently,” Digg said dryly.

“And you didn’t think maybe I would like to have known that first thing this morning?” Oliver asked in a low voice. “That my best friend is alive after I saw him die?”

“I don’t know, did you think maybe I would have liked to have given some input on whether I stayed in IT or began working as your assistant?” she snapped at him. “Or maybe just a heads up before I walked into work this morning and it was insinuated that it was because of how close we are that I got transferred?” 

She immediately felt terrible for snapping at him, when Tommy being back from the dead was actually really important news. Even she couldn’t blame Oliver for lashing out, so she took a deep breath and gestured at Tommy, “I’m sorry. Did I know this was important? Yes. Telling you was actually what I was thinking about when I was walking into the building this morning. I just didn’t get a chance to because my day turned to even more shit.”

Tommy laid a hand on her wrist, “To be fair, she didn’t even leave Laurel’s until four this morning, maybe you should cut her some slack.”

Oliver and Diggle glanced at Felicity for a split second, then back at Tommy, who neither of them seemed to want to take their eyes off of. Diggle had a permanent look of disbelief on his face, occasionally glancing over at Oliver worriedly, while Oliver just looked stunned. “I don’t understand. I was...I was there with you, when you...when it happened, Tommy.”

Tommy shook his head. “I don’t know, Oliver. I remember going to CNRI, then the next thing I remember, I’m waking up in a hospital room, alone.”

Oliver stared at Tommy for a minute, before walking toward him and wrapping his arms around his friend. “You’re really here. You’re actually alive.”

Tommy hugged Oliver back tightly. “I just wanted a little revenge for what you put us through.”

“Tommy,” Oliver said, exasperated.

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Tommy finally sobered up and looked at Felicity, who gave him a small, encouraging smile, then back at Oliver and Diggle. “The truth is, I really don’t know what happened. Five months of my life are gone. I woke up alone, and, honestly, a little hurt that no one was there. I didn’t know you guys thought I was dead.”

“And you’re ok? You aren’t injured or anything? You’re really ok?” Oliver asked. Felicity could hear the little bit of hope in his voice. As if the whole time he had been standing there, looking at Tommy, even hugging him, Oliver still hadn’t allowed himself to believe that he was actually seeing his friend.

Tommy nodded. “The doctor cleared me to go. As far as I know, I’m fine.”

“Well, except that you can’t remember the last five months,” Diggle interjected. He looked over at Felicity, who could see the unasked question in his eyes. She nodded, just slightly. Of course she was going to look into it. Who did these people think she was?

“Except that,” Tommy conceded. “So, I was hoping that you could help me with the whole legal resurrection thing.”

Oliver nodded. “Of course. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

They talked it over, Oliver telling Tommy that he would try to pull some strings to get the case expedited through the court system. Felicity wanted to hack her way into the system and take care of it herself, but she realized it would be a bad idea with him being a Merlyn. That would get noticed, and then possibly traced back to her, which is something that she didn’t want, and the team didn’t need.

“The good news is, Laurel couldn’t bear to get rid of your things, well, most of them, and they’re currently in storage at the Queen mansion,” Felicity said, turning away from her computers to look at Tommy. “The bad news is that you no longer have an apartment, Merlyn Global’s funds are frozen, and so is whatever your father had in the bank. You know, lawsuits and stuff.”

Tommy shook his head. “I don’t want his money anyway. Oliver, do you think Verdant could use a bartender?”

Oliver clapped him on the shoulder. “I think we can probably work something out. We’ll talk to Thea, she might even need a co-manager. And there’s always more than enough room at the house.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but Oliver,” Felicity waved him over to look at her screen and continued, “I found some information for that FEMA case you wanted me to look at earlier.”

As she explained to Oliver and Diggle what she had found, Felicity also kept one eye on Tommy, to gauge his reaction. Before his death, he was less than pleased with Oliver’s side project. Even if he did help to hide the foundry at one time. He never did see them in action though, and she was curious to see what he thought. He listened, quietly, still sitting a few feet away from them, as they talked about their options. 

There was a shipment in about an hour that could use the vigilante’s protection. Felicity thought it was a bad idea, Oliver was too shaken up over Tommy’s return to think clearly. She could see both Oliver and Diggle wavering, fighting with themselves over the importance of the mission vs. whether Oliver was in the right frame of mind to take care of it the way it needed to be.

“Obviously this shipment is important to the city,” Tommy said. The three of them turned to look at Tommy as he spoke up. “I can appreciate that maybe you don’t feel on top of your game, after seeing me, and I apologize for that. But you’re a hero, Oliver. I’m sorry that I didn’t realize it before. Go be a hero.”

Oliver looked at Diggle, who nodded once at him, then over at Felicity, who tried to look as encouraging as possible, even as she doubted that this was the best idea. “Felicity, do you want to take Tommy to my house? You probably know where his things are being kept, right?” Oliver asked as he began to check over his arrows and other gear to make sure everything was ready for tonight’s mission.

“But what about…”

“I should be able to handle it, Felicity,” Diggle said quietly. “If anything goes wrong, we’ll call you. I’m sure Tommy would like to get out of the scrubs. And maybe a good night’s rest.”

Felicity glanced over at Tommy, then back at Oliver and Diggle. “Sure, that sounds fine. Call me if you need anything.” Diggle nodded and Felicity and Tommy made their way toward her car in silence.

Once on the road, Felicity looked over at Tommy, studying him as much as she could without taking her attention away from the road completely. “How are you doing?”

Tommy shrugged. “I’m fine. I feel fine. Everyone is sort of walking on eggshells around me, which is annoying. I don’t feel any different.”

“Tommy, you have to understand, we all thought you were dead. Laurel had a really hard time with it, blamed herself. So did Oliver, he went back to the island because of what happened. He felt he didn’t do enough to save you. We all felt that we failed you. We’re all pretty shocked.”

“Laurel did seem different last night. I know what grief looks like on her. It was more than that,” Tommy said slowly.

“Well, like I said, she’s been having a really hard time dealing with your death. We all have. But, you’re back, somehow, and you want us to stop treating you differently, so I will do my best.”

Tommy touched her shoulder lightly. “Thanks, Felicity. I appreciate it.” They were silent for another moment, until he spoke again. “So, what was my funeral like?”

Felicity’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me right now, Tommy?” He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes. “It was nice. Oliver and Thea took care of it.”

“What’s new in the land of the living?”

“Is this going to become a thing with you?”

“There’s a possibility.”

Felicity sighed. “I hate you.”

“Oh, come on, Smoak. You adore me. Admit it, you were sad when I was dead. You missed me.”

“Seriously, Tommy? How are you joking about this?”

Tommy shrugged. “What else am I supposed to do? You’re looking into it, I know you are. Don’t try to deny it,” he said quickly when she opened her mouth to do that very thing. “And until we know the truth, whatever sinister reason it may be, I’m here, and I’m just going to be happy that I’m alive.”

“Well, that’s a good way of looking at it,” Felicity said quietly. “You think you’re here for a sinister reason?”

“I don’t know. But I know you’ll figure it out. And I want you to include me in your investigation. Don’t hide anything from me, keep me updated,” he said in a serious tone. “Involve me. Seriously. But honestly, what’s new with you? You and Laurel are friends. How did that happen?”

“We ran into each other visiting your grave. I found this shot glass that made me think of you. I wanted to leave it there. We ended up going to lunch right after. And we’ve been friends ever since.”

“You left dead me a shot glass? I’m touched. What did it say?”

Felicity looked over at him and grinned. “‘All grown up and still fascinated with nipples.’ Which was printed over a half-naked woman.”

Tommy nodded. “I approve. It’s a shame it was left for dead me. I’d love to add that to my collection.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were finally inside the Queen mansion, and Felicity was showing Tommy the spare room that Thea had them store his things in. “Any of your belongings that were kept are in here. The boxes have pictures, artwork, your shot glass collection, and a few other things. I think Laurel has a few things at her place, too. So do Thea and Oliver. I just don’t know what.”

He nodded and looked around the room. Felicity forgot how much stuff they had saved. Basically everything except for big furniture items. She tried to put herself in Tommy’s shoes for a moment. What must it be like to wake up and realize that five months have passed you by, with everyone you know and love thinking you were dead? You come back, most of your things are gone, you don’t have your own living space anymore. Those same people you love have lives that you aren’t even a part of, not really. 

She resolved then to really get to the bottom of what happened, give him some sort of answer about those five months. All she had to do was look at Oliver and realize that life was never kind enough to bring someone back from the dead whole, without any scars.


End file.
